the US possessed more nuclear weapons the the USSR and developed ICBMs which were far superior to USSR ICBMs

intelligence gathered by U-2 spy planes and the CIA satellite 'Discoverer' revealed the USSR had few bombers and operational missiles

the US deployed IRBMs (intermediate range ballistic missiles) in the UK, Italy and Turkey

1958, Eisenhower increased funding into science education

July 1960, the US deployed Polaris, the world's first SLBM (submarine launched ballistic missile)

a 'balance of terror' existed by the early 60's

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'Balance of Terror'

Nuclear deterrence and limited war

Both the US and USSR's nuclear capability made nuclear deterrence a strategic reality for both sides and wanted to keep conflict to a 'limited war'

Limited war: A war that is fought with conventional weapons, limited in scale and restricted to a certain area or region

Massive retaliation

A US doctrine brought in in 1954 that involved using brinkmanship (going to the brink of nuclear war) to force an enemy to back down

Also designed to reduce conventional arms spendings

Flexible response

Kennedy and his Defence Secretary, McNamara, rejected massive retaliation and favoured a flexible response strategy, which considered the possiblity of limited nuclear war

McNamara developed a 'second strike' capability (based on bombers, ICBMs and submarines) that would be used to counteract a nuclear attack from the USSR

Hugely expensive and raised questions on how a nuclear war could be 'limited' or 'managed'

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Mutually Assured Destruction and the effects of th

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)

1963 McNamara began to emphasise nuclear deterrence and talk of the USSR's 'assured destruction' in any conflict

When hte USSR had reached the same nuclear capability as the US, they had reached the position of mutual assured destruction or mutual deterrence

Stabilising effects of the arms race on the Cold War

Deterrent effect of nuclear weapons prevented any confrontation

Superpowers respected each other's sphere of influence

Destabilising effects of the arms race o the Cold War

Each side continued to produce more and more powerful weapons, increasing threat

The secrecy around the development of weapons led to oppositional fears of superiority

Cost of nuclear weapons imposed huge financial strains on both sides

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Causes of the Cuban Missile Crisis

The Cuban Revolution (1959)

From 1933, Cuba was ruled by Batista, a ruthless military dictator who encouraged economic involvement of the US in return for US support of his brutal, corrupt and unpopular regime, and in January 1959, Batista was overthrown by revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro, and fled into exile

Growing US-Cuban Tension (1959-1961)

Castro became dependent on the USSR following deteriating relations with the US

Castro's meeting with vice-President Nixon in NYC (April 1959) didn;t go well, with Nixon concluding that Castro was a communist

Castro wanted Cuba to be independent of US influence, so distributed land to poor peasants who had been exploited by Batista and US business interests

The Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962) II

Mon 15th: US National Photographic Intelligence Centre reviews and verifies the photos

Tue 16th: Kennedy assembles an Executive Committee of the National Security Council (ExComm) to discuss US military and diplomatic response

Wed 17th: During the ExComm meeting, the Joint Chiefs of Staff press for an air strike, and another U-2 flight shows IRBMs on Cuba

Thu 18th: Kennedy meets the Soviet foreign minister, warns him that missiles must not be installed on Cuba, but the minister insists he is only aiding 'defensive capabilities' on Cuba

Fri 19th: Kennedy leaves Washingon for scheduled campaign speeches

Sat 20th: Kennedy cancels remaining campaign trip for 'health reasons', meets his advisers and orders a defensive blockade of Cuba should be established immediately

Sun 21st: General Maxwell Taylor informs Kennedy that a US airstrike could not guarantee the destruction of all Soviet missiles in Cuba

Mon 22nd: Kennedy addresses the US on TV, announcing the blockade and issues a demand for the immediate withdrawal of Soviet missiles. US military forces go to Defence Condition (DEFCON) 3, and the US base at Guantanamo Bay is reinforced by marines

Tue 23rd: US ships are positioned along the quarantine line, 800 miles from Cuba, Khrushchev sends Kennedy a letter which stated that there is a 'serious threat to the peace and security of peoples', Kennedy pulls back the quarantine line to 500 miles

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The Cuban Missile Crisis (October 1962) III

Wed 24th: US forces go to DEFCON 2 (one short of war), the highest in US history, Soviet ships sailing with unidentified cargoes to Cuba either slow down or reverse their course

Thu 25th: Kennedy sends Khrushchev a letter blaming the USSR for the crisis,US reconnaissance photos are shown at UN General Assembly to prove the activity in Cuba

Fri 26th: Kennedy concludes that quarantine alone will not remove USSR missiles from Cuba, CIA reports no halt in the development of missile sites on Cuba, Khrushchev sends another letter to Kennedy proposing to remove USSR missiles, if the US lifts the blockade and publicly pledges to never invade Cuba

Sat 27th: Khrushchev proposes trading USSR missiles on Cuba for US missiles in Turkey, a U-2 spy plane is shot down over Cuba, Kennedy is under pressure to take military action, but instead responds to Khrushchev's proposal by informing him that the US won't invade Cuba if he removes the missiles, and gives secret assurance that the US missiles could soon leave Turkey

Sun 28th: Khrushchev accepts Kennedy's terms and announces on Radio Moscow that he has agreed to remove USSR missiles from Cuba, and the crisis is over

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Results of the Cuban Missile Crisis

Results for the leaders

KENNEDY: gave a much needed foreign policy, could claim to have removed the Soviet nuclear threat, reaped political rewards at US Congressional elections with Democrats getting their biggest majority in 20 years, accepted that Cuba would be under communist control for the future and secretly agreed on the removing of US missiles in Turkey

KHRUSHCHEV: could claim credit for obtaining the US pledge to not invade Cuba, couldn't argue that Soviet action in Cuba had removed US missiles in Turkey, had descent in popularity for choosing peace instead of brinkmanship with the Soviet military regarding the whole crisis and Khrushchev's role as a failure

CASTRO: furious at Khrushchev for not consulting him about the removal of Soviet missiles and the expectation of USSR to insist on the removal of the US base at Guantanamo Bay, reinforced his economic dependence on the USSR

Consequences

'hot-line' agreement (June 1963) - crisis showed the need for rapid communication, so a telegraph was set up between the White House and the Kremlin